"Anderson, Kevin J - Game 2 - Game Play" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anderson Kevin J)

The Earthspirits changed. They moved. Their light glittered and swirled in a funnel, pouring down into the metal of the belt. Dazzles of color floated in front of Delrael's eyes. He shielded them, blinking, as the wind continued to howl, focusing downward. Leaves broke away from branches and swirled around his head.
The Spirits streamed down into the silver links. Delrael tried to imagine how so much power could fit within the belt.
Then the silver swallowed the last glints of white with an audible _pop_. The wind ceased. Torn leaves and broken twigs settled to the ground, and everything fell silent again.
His ears ringing, Delrael crept forward. His feet were wet, along with the hem of his nightshirt. His eyes were wide and childlike when he touched the belt. For a moment it was blistering hot, then the silver grew bitterly cold before adjusting itself again. Tracings of frost etched across the gems before evaporating into the cool night.
Delrael picked the belt up in his hands. The silver throbbed against his fingers, vibrating with a rhythm that faded toward stillness.
He would have to be careful about what he said to anyone if the Outsiders truly were not aware of this quest. Not even the Rulewoman Melanie could know.
Then Delrael smiled. At last they had their weapon. At last they had a way to win against Scartaris.
He fastened the belt around his damp nightshirt. He didn't feel tired anymore. He wanted to talk to Vailret and Bryl and Tareah immediately. They needed to set off as soon as possible. No more sitting around and talking.
He looked up through the trees to see the silhouette of Steep Hill and the Stronghold. Delrael realized it would be a long walk barefoot back home.
* * * *
Tareah sat back in the deep wooden tub, drawing her gangly legs up and tucking her knees close to her chin. The legs seemed so long to her, so awkward, as if they belonged to someone else. The rough surface of the wet wood rubbed against the bumps of her spine.
Through half-closed eyes she saw wisps of steam rising from the bath. The warm water soaked into the throbbing in her joints. Old Siya argued with her that the water was too hot, but Tareah found that only this would help. When she climbed out, dripping, to dry herself, her skin would be angry red, but she would feel better, numbed for a while.
Her muscles relaxed under the coaxing of the bath. She let her mind drift, her body drift. She felt painfully lonely, lost and unsure of anything. Her stable and predictable world had been thrown into chaos since Tryos the dragon kidnapped her, since her father died in the destruction of his Ice Palace, since she found out the Outsiders were trying to destroy Gamearth. Tareah's new adult body was difficult to control, grown too fast. She seemed like a stranger inside herself.
In the deserted bath chamber, after the others bedded down for the night, Tareah listened to quiet sounds, nightbirds and insects in the cooling air. Autumn would arrive soon. On the equinox the characters would celebrate Transition Day, the anniversary of when all her forefathers had transformed themselves into the six Spirits. Delrael had promised her they would make a big celebration in the village this year. He said he would do it for her. She smiled at the thought.
The most important anchor in all her turmoil was the friendship of Delrael and Vailret. They poured so much attention upon her that she felt special again, as when her father Sardun cared for her. Delrael reminded her of the monumental heroes in the old legends of the Game, adventurous, sure of himself, brave and strong. Vailret had all the intelligence and background of a respected scholar -- he could talk intensely about many subjects, but he was often self-conscious around her. She sighed and forced a smile.
The open fire on the hearth heated another cauldron of water in case Tareah needed her bath warmed again. The hissing and snapping of the flames soothed her, eased her into a doze. She drifted. She let her eyes sink closed as she smelled the water, the damp wood.
A sharp pain snapped inside her head. Tareah became dislocated, floating, with nothing to hold onto. She felt the Sorcerer blood within her -- she knew what it could do, but all at once it didn't seem strong enough. Tareah blinked her eyes again and stared at the fire. The flames throbbed, running together like melted wax. She grew dizzy. She seemed disembodied.
Without knowing what she was doing, Tareah slipped under the water of her bath.
She opened her eyes, but through the bath water she saw clear images. She didn't need to breathe, didn't even think of it. She felt no alarm at all. The water she smelled and saw was not from inside her bath ... but from the Barrier River. She felt a swaying raft beneath her feet. She saw giant, shadowy shapes, hooded figures, heard booming voices.
A man with wild dark hair and black beard stood on the raft. Like an invisible observer, Tareah felt the anger in his heart, the alien fury that controlled him from far away.
Her Sorcerer blood recognized that this was Enrod, the Sentinel from Taire.
She heard the Deathspirits pronounce judgement on Enrod, she learned what he had been about to do to the land. In horror she stared at him, but she could feel no sympathy when the Deathspirits stripped him of the Fire Stone.
In her head, she heard the words ringing out, spoken to _her_:
"The Fire Stone was meant to assist the characters of the Game. As the last full Sorcerer character, you must now receive the Stone. We trust no one else with the decision. Take it and win the Game. Or lose. We have done our part. We care no longer."
Then the vision left her completely.
As she blinked, Tareah found she was under water, in her own bath, cramped and unable to breathe. She pushed her head up above the surface, sputtering and spraying water from her mouth. She blinked her eyes. Thick brown hair streamed wet down her neck.
Her eyes focused, and she saw something different about the fireplace. The flames curled against the split logs like yellow tatters. Wisps of steam danced up from the surface of the cauldron of heating water. Smoke rose into the chimney, but left the room filled with the smell of burning wood.
Gleaming at the foot of the hearth, among the orange coals, lay the brilliant eight-sided ruby. The Fire Stone, red and pulsing with magic.
* * * *
The musty dampness of the stonecutter's caves filled Delrael's nostrils. The torches and lanterns they carried flickered in the drafts of sluggish air, throwing light against the hewn rock walls. The smoke mixed with the heavy smell of stone dust and earth.
Delrael crossed his arms over his leather jerkin, looking at the dim chamber. He brushed dirt off his pants. Vailret followed him in, found a rock outcropping to sit on, and lounged against the wall. He looked thin and gaunt in the uncertain light; but his eyes were bright and intense.
Bryl the old half-Sorcerer sat by himself, glancing around as if frightened by the shadows, the oppressive weight of rock around them. Tareah waited next to Vailret.
In the silent hours before dawn, no one knew they had gone to the caves. They had much to discuss, in private, away from the villagers and -- they hoped -- away from the prying eyes of the Outsiders.
Vailret coughed and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "We've got half a hilltop of rock over our heads to shield us. Maybe the Outsiders won't be able to hear us here."
Bryl cringed at Vailret's mention of the weight of the rock. Delrael looked at the low ceiling and nodded, but he kept his voice quiet anyway. "The Outsiders must not know anything about this. It's something we have to decide."
He didn't know where to begin. He had already told them in a brief whisper about the Earthspirits. At the same time, Tareah had burst out of the bath chamber, wrapped in a blanket but dripping onto the wooden floor. Wide-eyed, she held the glowing ruby Fire Stone in her hand....
"The Earthspirits promised to help us destroy Scartaris," Delrael said. "We might have a good chance now, especially if Tareah has the Fire and Water Stones, and Bryl has the Air Stone."
Bryl fondled the Air Stone, the four-sided diamond that created illusions. Gairoth the ogre had used it to overthrow the Stronghold by making the other characters believe he commanded an indestructible army of other ogres.
Tareah fumbled at her waist to undo the lashings of a small cloth purse. She drew out the sapphire Water Stone, shaped like a cubical six-sided die. For centuries it had been held by Tareah's father, Sardun the Sentinel. At Vailret's urging, Sardun had used the Water Stone to create the Barrier River; now, after Sardun's death, Tareah took the Water Stone herself. She held it next to her new Fire Stone, blue fire in one hand, red fire in the other.
Delrael smiled. "Scartaris is still there, and the Outsider David still wants to destroy us -- but we can fight back now. This is our Game, too!"
Vailret rubbed a finger along his lower lip. "We've got to be careful about this, though."
Delrael grimaced -- he hated to hear his cousin say that.
"Scartaris must know we're trying to stop him. It's rather hard to hide something like the Barrier River, you know. And when we confronted the Outsiders in that deserted Slac fortress, we learned all about each other's intentions."
Bryl and Tareah muttered, and Delrael fidgeted in impatience. But Vailret looked at them. "We should assume that the Outsider David is already sending something to kill us, a monster or two. If he wants to end the Game so much, he won't take any chances. He'll come to get us directly -- and the longer we sit here, the easier a target we make."
"Not unless he thinks it might liven up the Game," Delrael said. "Remember what we're here for. Rule #1 -- always have fun."
Vailret snorted. Bryl squirmed, nervous and trying to avoid the issue. Tareah put hands on her hips in an awkward, unsure gesture. "Well, what are we going to do?" she said.
"First and most important, we have to make sure the Outsiders don't learn about the Earthspirits and their involvement," Delrael said immediately. "That could be our loaded dice." He touched his silver belt, but he felt nothing unusual. "I have to carry them to Scartaris -- but we need to make it look like we're just going on a quest to find out more about our enemy."
"_We?_" Bryl said. "Who all is going on this quest? We just got back from one!"
Delrael frowned at him. "We're supposed to enjoy going on quests, Bryl. That's what we were all created for. It's just a game."
"This just might take the Outsiders by surprise." Vailret smiled. "That'll teach them to leave loopholes in the Rules!"